Devil's December
by ZombieAteMyName
Summary: When Claire visits her old college she runs into an old enemy out for revenge against Chris. With Claire taken, it's up to Chris to find a way to rescue his sister from the evil man's clutches...


Devil's December

Chapter 1- March: Beware the Eyes of March

Winter was coming. Claire Redfield could sense the bitter chill in the air as she removed the helmet from her head, the breeze faintly hinting that the cold weather was on its way. Strands of her red hair that had come loose from her ponytail during the drive danced in the breeze before she pushed the freed locks behind her ear while her other had still clutched the helmet.

The younger sibling of the Redfield bloodline's attention was focused more on the aged brick building a football field in front of her.

The University of Louisville.

It had been a long time since she had been back to the campus. Who would have thought that a woman from Terrasave who dealt with more real life horror stories had once been an everyday normal college student here? Times had been much more simpler back then when her worries were about whether the professor caught her snoozing in class or if she could slid her way out of doing a statistics assignment, not whether she was going to be a zombie's next meal or not.

Before that night her life changed, she remembered showing off her motorcycle skills to the hotshots on campus who didn't know jack between a Harley and Indian bike. Days where skipping class to lounge out in the courtyard with her friends were a normal thing, a natural thing.

Those days were no more when she hadn't been able to get in touch with her brother who was a member of the S.T.A.R.S. team of Raccoon city. Since their parents' death, they had been as close as siblings could be. His overly protective nature as well as goofball side was everything Claire could want in a big brother. Her brother Chris had been attentive in pushing her into getting a college education rather than following his footsteps into the Air force like he had.

His light humored nature didn't seem to mix well with the strict nature of the pilots and instead took a job with the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad after one of his buddies named Barry convinced him to join the team. Since the switch to the Apple pie life of the small city of Raccoon, she and her brother kept in constant contact with each other, whether it be phone calls, or her taking weekend trips down to his place. They'd go see outdate movies in their theaters and pig out at Emmy's diner during late hours of the night.

Life had been good until that night after not hearing from her brother for a few days, the young college student instantly grabbing her helmet and driving the several hours to Raccoon to go find him. Claire had found more than she bargained as she found herself in a city that resembled the night of the living dead movies. With zombies trying to take a bite out of her and strange monsters such as the inside out man creatures, this night became a messed up game of survival. The only way she made it out alive was with the help of a rookie Raccoon City cop who had just started his first day.

Since that day, the Raccoon City survivor tossed her text books away and traded them in for a gun. Instead of learning about the History of art, she was learning about the corrupt corporation of Umbrella whose global billion dollar pockets and their massive amount of viral experimentation.

The successful pharmaceutical company found no moral lines they could cross as they created these monsters and multiple strains of viruses in the name of science. Of course Raccoon City was one of the victims when the corporation couldn't contain their experiments, making innocent people pay the price for their dangerous and illegal work. Umbrella wasn't afraid to get their hands dirty when it came to people knowing too much about their secrets and intention, but neither was she.

A smart person would've moved out of dodge range. Claire however could say she'd rather be the fool in this situation and jump in the line of fire when it came to bring light to Umbrella terrible work. Find out that her brother had not only been alive but was fighting to bring Umbrella down, the younger sister found herself determined to do the same.

Time and Time again, the Redfield girl had thrown herself into dangerous situations where similar nightmarish events like Raccoon city had occurred. From facilities, to prisons, and even an Airport, Claire had witnessed placed turn into slides similar to a horror movie with death and despair.

Umbrella Mongrels and others with similar agenda as the evil corporation had caused places like these to fall in chaos and destruction just to line their pockets

. She had taken down many of these crazed and dangerous criminals but had also seen a lot of people die. Steve Burnside in particular was one of those people whose death still haunted her dream as could not save the boy who confessed his feeling with his dying breath.

The now TerraSave employee with better places to be found herself making the long drive to staring at the old building from the parking lot instead. Claire had half questioned why she had even bothered to make this trip. The person she was in the past since that night to Raccoon seemed to be non-existent now, as if that red headed girl was never meant to be here in the first place.

Despite all good deeds she had done though and lives she had saved such as the petite Sherry Birkin, Claire had always felt the small nagging in the back of her mind wonder what life would've been like if she never had gotten involved. The devil's advocate of an idea seem innocent enough yet when she had dreams of death and saw the hardships her brother and her had walked through, that idea made her question her dedication at times. The fighter against Umbrella found the only way to silence the idea was to do a final walk down memory line of this "past life" at what seemed to be the only place that exist now.

It was a childish idea indeed, but it was the only thing she could come up with.

Claire placed the helmet still in her hands finally on the back of her bike, making the final choice in the matter that she might as well take the time to look around since the she made spontaneous action to drive all the way out. With quick hands, Claire snagged the motorcycle key from its ignition and slipped the small metal object in her back pocket before moving forward.

Putting one foot in front of the other the auburn haired woman made her way past the striped white lines for parking and moved to the sidewalk that would lead the drop out to the main administration building she use to avoid.

Looking around the campus as she walked, the civil rights worker against terrorism could help but notice how empty the campus had been. The Redfield girl had notice when she had pulled in the lacking amount of cars in the college's main lot, only a few littered the area that should hold at least a few dozen more.

Of course coming on an off day of Sunday to a campus could be the expected reason why the placed looked all but abandon yet the haunting feeling made her shiver out of habit. Pulling her white jacket tighter, she could help but smile at the clothing choice as it had a resemblance to her favorite leathers that she wore on campus. Despite the color change and the long sleeves, the angelic rebel aspect of her style ceased to change.

With an angel on one knee clutching an old fashion bomb and an upper arc stating "You don't fool me" elegantly, The Claire Redfield Spirit surely could be found with the jacket.

The young woman had turned and walked down the stretch of sidewalk, the long football field of a courtyard to her right was a mix of green, orange, yellow, red, and the dull touch of brown as the trees seemed dressed for their annual season of decay.

Past the beauty of the colors, the autumn time reminded her of the terror she had seen. In fact it seemed like all the season had that haunting effect to them, that someone who had been thrown into a world of zombies and murder could adapt very world to innocent components.

The fall reminded her how loved ones and innocent bystanders of Umbrella's mischief were turned into the mindless ghouls. Their bodies decay within hours to the point where their limbs would fall off yet they would still hunger for flesh of people.

Where summer brought the disturb reminder when garbage sat out for too long, and gave the rotting smell that mirrored the same smell as the undead from Raccoon. Winter had instilled the chill of the lifeless corpses of those who had died by the hands of monsters and criminals alike.

The bitter snow of winter brought up all of her experiences of Rockfort prison and the event that follow suit when she and her partner Steve had been auto-piloted to Antarctica because of the crazy Ashford twins.

Finally spring reminded her how like flowers; victims blossomed into the monsters with the use of the G-Virus. Clearly her imagination was too involved with her day to day life, perhaps too much involved that someone would consider getting her help alone the lines of comfy couches and looking at ink blots.

Everything could be adapted to the idea of the infection that had taken over her life. She didn't really talk about it with anyone; call it a stubborn trait in the Redfield bloodline. Her older brother was as stubborn as she was when it came to talking about feeling or all the events they went through.

Chris seemed to keep all those emotions to himself and found that getting distracted with the B.S.A.A. with countless missions after the other. Perhaps keeping busy was his way of keeping those thoughts at bay and keep old nightmares from returning with new nightmares.

Claire had received a call from Chris about half a day ago why he was at the airport trying to travel back to B.S.A.A. headquarters, his voice tired from the back to back missions he was getting. She supposed that she should give him a call like she promised since he still played big brother but she pushed it off later in the day. Claire would spare him the rude awakening from the sleep he desperately needed since he no doubt was suffering some serious jet lag.

The walk long walk finally came to end an as she climbed the steps up the building and passed the paint cracked white columns that could use an extra dose of paint and moved to the door handle.

As her fingers curved around the cold iron handle a shiver when down her spine but the sudden familiar and chilling voice that entered the air along with footsteps to follow send a the shiver down to her core.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise, and more lovely than the last time we've spoken."

Claire Redfield froze for a few moments as the feeling of dreaded déjà vu flooded through her, the Ashford estate running back into her memory like a cold bucket of water to the face.

That same voice had been the one of a man who had toyed with her brother and attempted to use her as bait to lure Chris into his demise. The voice of the once S.T.A.R.S. members captain who had betrayed his team which resulted in most members losing their lives. Where his brother's partner had been taken hostage by this madman to use as his mere puppet, and his idealistic and radical thoughts of decimating the world in order to become it's ruler as a God. The most important memory of this man was that he was supposed to be dead.

Yet as she turned around, her own blue eyes latched onto to very much alive man, who eyes as usual were hidden by a pair of sunglasses. Her heart sank as her mind had not been playing tricks on her and that she actually was face to face with this traitorous man if she could even call him a man.

Seeing him walk towards her and stop at the foot of the small case of stairs she had walked up moments ago had her remember their first meeting at Rockfort, if anything she was more terrified then she was then.

"Wesker...but...how?" Claire attempted to push enough power in her voice but the words merely choked out as she spoke, her eyes staring towards the slicked golden haired devil that she hated so for what he done to Chris.

"Did you honestly think that pathetic effort by your foolish brother could have killed me? How naive of you to think so." The man known as Albert Wesker responded back, his voice dripping with a dark humor as he began to move up the steps towards her.

The last thing that the younger Redfield had learned about her first encounter with the once former Umbrella employee and former captain of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha was that she didn't stand a chance against the supposed dead man.

With cat like eyes behind those shades, she knew he was on a whole other level that she was. The first time she had come face to face with the creator of Urobouros, he tossed her around like a rag doll. Wesker could easily dispose of her and with the space between the closing and only a knife from Chris she had always kept with her to fight him, her situation looked bleak.

Her eyes glanced past him to her motorcycle in the distance in the parking lot where she had kept her gun stored in the seat compartment before returning to the supposed dead man. If she fought him head on, she could see the same result as the Rockfort Island incident with her on ground at his mercy. If she could get to her bike she could at least having a fight chance as well as an escape route.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The girl with auburn hair questioned as she slightly turned a bit, the question at first was only to buy time and provide a possible distraction as she angled herself in the direction of her bike to ready herself without looking obvious.

As the question left her lips though she found herself truly interested in the answer. Why would Albert Wesker be in Louisville and at a college no less, didn't seem like the place that could offer experiments or millions of dollars in funding. Hell unless he wanted to take another class in Biology this would literally be the last place to find an evil master mind.

Claire watched his lips curve into a slight smirk, and an amused chuckle escaped. That laugh still set her stomach in cartwheels of dread as it did those years ago. She would have rather taken nails on a chalk board that listen to such dark laughter in her direction from the likes of him.

"So many questions, I doubt you'd believe I've come for peaceful walk on the grounds of such an incompetent college after my...misfortune in Kinjuju." He voice gave a bitter tone as he spoke the village in Africa that the showdown between her brother and he took place.

Each step he took towards made it that much less time for to evade him and make a quick getaway at alert Chris. The TerraSave member could compare him to the predatorily nature of a snake rather than a Lion. The sly and complex nature of a snake and its ability to surround its prey seemed more like the two-faced evil man. Its strike unmerciful to its prey as either the venom or its tight grasp stole the victim's life.

"Let's just say I've been looking for some better company to entertain me since your brother isn't available."

Claire reacted within seconds of his response, her hand slipping into her opposite side's jacket pocket touching cool metal. Not a moment later the color of sliver projected from her hands and headed towards the man's chest.

The ponytailed woman didn't watch and wait to see if the weapon landed its mark in the dead man known as Albert Wesker, instead she found herself running down the steps as fast as she could. The woman would have taken the steps three at a time as it would have been faster but realizing if she slipped on any of the leaves would leave her with something broken and at his mercy.

As her feet dropped from the last step she sprinted as fast as she could through the grassy courtyard, straight lining it to her bike. Her lungs didn't appreciate the stain from the chilly air but she pressed on knowing she could worry about that later. However as she made it halfway across from the courtyard a sudden pain shot through her right leg, causing her to stumble and fall onto the cold ground. A small cry filled with shock and pain escaped as she landed, the grass not providing any help with softening the fall.

Claire Redfield's eyes quickly moved to her leg to assess the damage and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the familiar silver knife slice deep into her leg.

The blade was still embedded into her calf, cleanly positioned to the far left. The S.T.A.R.S. symbol on the hilt of the knife seemed to mock her as her own knife had been thrown back at her to prevent her from escaping. Her jeans started to soak and be come discolored with the blood that left the wound at the Claire cringed at the throbbing pain that radiated through her entire leg.

At first glance, the bloody area looked terrible but was by no means fatal and had missed the bone completely whether it had been by luck or good aim. Clearly she wasn't going to be joining any marathons for a while.

The activist against bioterrorism forced her eyes to look up from the knife in her leg and to the danger heading her way. Slowly he walked through the courtyard grass as if he was enjoying a pleasant stroll in the park, a smirk on his lips showed he took pleasure in his quick work of incapacitating her.

Claire forced herself to move despite her condition, her movements panicked as attempted lift herself from the ground. After a painful stumble back to the ground the young woman found herself pulling herself forward, clawing into the grass in a feeble attempt to distance herself from Wesker.

Her attempts seemed quite useless because similar to a great white shark, trying to escape its hungered pursuit had little to no success. Soon he was standing over her, his dark shades reflecting her fearful blue eyes.

"Now Dear heart, and here I thought we were having a wonderful conversation. You and your brother clearly have the same brute defiance. Oh course I didn't think you'd accompany me quietly, but I couldn't help but watch and enjoy your feeble attempt at escape. Quite disappointing, I had expected more from Chris' little sister. "

Claire cringed at the wave of pain that circuited through her from the knife wound to her leg as he mocked her for running. What in the world did he want with her? That was the big question next to why he was still alive.

"What do you want from me?" The Terra save member demanded, trying to put enough strength into her question. She spared the plea that she didn't know anything like most people would do, as she doubted a person like Albert Wesker would believe a lie such as that.

"What do I want? I want to make Chris suffer for the inconvenient he cause me. Make him feel the pain of loss as I had when I had lost everything in that volcano that was to be my grave. I believe you can help me with this, can you not Miss Redfiel-"

Claire breath became caught in her lungs as Wesker's cruel voice spoke of his intentions. The veteran of biohazards didn't allow the man to finish his taunting words.

Instead her left hand moved to the handle of the knife sticking out of her leg and quickly jerked it loose. Many would see this painful act foolish as one of the first things taught in first aid with knife wounds was to never remove the object. However, dealing with a madman who had torture in his mindset clearly was worth the risk of blood loss in for a weapon and surprise.

A cry half out of pain and motion of battle escaped her lips as she push herself to her feet, adrenaline giving her this power to stand as she swiped knife towards the dark clothed man, aiming for his chest.

Wesker had merely put out his own, allowing the blade to slide through his hand, however he underestimated the Redfield sister as her other hand balled into a fist and slammed in the right of his face.

Before Claire could pull her hand back for another hit though, a brutal force slammed into her chest send her into the air away from the Wesker before painfully slamming into a tree nearby. The unwelcome pain of hit to her tree radiated through her back and her head instantly knock the wind out of her lungs. As the tree had stopped her from being thrown across campus, the knife wound was nothing compared to her collision as she fell forward into the grass.

A merely yelp of pain escaped her lips as she struggled to catch her breath back from blow to her chest and back. Already Claire could see burst of stars, no doubt from her head slamming into the tree but even with her muscles screaming at her hands gripped the ground as she tried to lift herself up. Likely her brother's enemy was here to kill her and from the looks of things he would succeed but the survivor Raccoon city would not go down without a fight.

The crunching of leaves drew her attention to look upward at her on coming doom, her fingers gripping fistfuls of the grass as she attempt to give the best glare upward to Wesker. Instead she felt a swift kick to her side, painfully pushing her on her back to face the tyrant her eyes closed and she cried out from the blow to her ribs.

However as Claire found her body feeling similar to one hit by oncoming traffic, her eyes widened with alarm and a pure mixture of fear and shock as her blue eyes looked up to the eyes of Wesker. Claire had remembered the first time she had seen the glow of Wesker's abnormal eyes, similar to now actually as he had tossed her around like a rag doll and planned to do more before he was called away.

They were the type of eyes that would haunt your dreams for years to come, a mixture of ruby and gold that had showed neither sympathy nor mercy. The eyes that looked down at her now were different though. His left eyes matched the same golden crimson she saw at Rockfort, hellish and powerful but this right eye was of the opposite. The right eyes shared no abnormal glow like the left, instead had a lovely blue iris that matched the color of a lake rather than the sky blue eyes she had.

"No..." she choked out.

As normal as his right eye appeared, the sight of it would haunt her more than his cat eyes from before, as she recognized the familiar blue. She remembered looking through the same colored eyes as his right during the final moments of Steve Burnside's life as he had been fatally wounded protecting her. Those blue hues that had belonged to the snarky yet sweet boy she had fought along side now belonged to the devil himself.

Claire's thoughts must have been an open book on her face as Wesker's laughter tore her away from the memory of Steve. Instead she listened to the dark chuckle as he slowly pull the knife that was still in his hand out, tossing it aside as if it was a simple splinter in his palm.

"I see I'll have to thank the deceased Burnside for look across your face. Due to your brother's efforts in Africa to destroy me, I used some extreme measures to fix myself. I'm glad you approve to the change."

Those were the last words she heard as the smiling devil raised his foot and brought it down, rendering her mind to darkness.


End file.
